Queen‘s Sonisphere gig with Adam Lambert as frontman may have been canceled, but the band’s Roger Taylor has created what he calls the ultimate Queen concert experience and is taking it on the road.

[pullquote quote="What an amazing storehouse of talent we have unlocked." credit="Roger Taylor, Queen"]

The Queen Extravaganza competition launched 12 weeks ago aiming to get the best musical talent through online auditions. The auditions sparked worldwide interest, with one contestant, Marc Martel, performing on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Well, the auditions are over and the band is heading out on tour this summer.

The show aims to run around two hours and cover close to 40 Queen classics including “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Another One Bites the Dust,” Crazy Little Thing Called Love” and “We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions.”

Announcing the the tour on Queen’s website, Roger Taylor said, “The Queen Extravaganza will not be like a traditional tribute show,” adding that it is a “specially designed to enable these new fans, together with fans of old, to celebrate the music of Queen in a heart stopping event.”

The Queen Extravaganza touring band includes vocalists and QE contestants Marc Martel and Jennifer Espinoza, along with additional vocalists Yvan Pedneault and Jeff Scott Soto (who’s sang on Yngwie Malmsteen albums and Journey tours); bassist Francois Olivier Doyon; guitarists Brian Gresh and Tristan Avakian; drummer Tyler Warren and keyboardist and musical director Brandon Ethridge.Watch a preview of the band below.

The Queen Extravaganza tour dates:

May 26: Quebec – Grand Theatre du Quebec
May 27: Montreal – St. Denis
May 29: Toronto – QE Theatre
May 31: Detroit, MI – Fox Theatre
June 1: Chicago, IL – House of Blues
June 2: Minneapolis, MN – The Brick
June 5: St. Louis, MO – The Pageant
June 7: Philadelphia, PA – Theatre of Living Arts
June 8: Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
June 9: Wallingford, CT – Oakdale
June 10: Bethlehem, PA – Event Center
June 11: Boston, MA – House of Blues
June 12: Huntington, NY – Paramount Theatre
June 15: Tampa, FL – Louis Lykes Ferguson Hall
June 17: Orlando, FL – The Plaza Live
June 19: Dallas, TX – Grand Prarie
June 20: Houston, TX – House of Blues
June 23: Las Vegas, NV – House of Blues
June 24: San Diego, CA – Humphrey’s
June 25: Los Angeles, CA – Club Nokia
June 26: San Francisco, CA – Regency
June 28: Seattle, WA – Showbox
June 30: Vancouver – Orpheum
July 2: Calgary – Jack Singer
July 3: Edmonton – Jubilee

–Steve Wiseman, WOMC; Jillian Mapes, CBS Local